Confusion Arises as Wisdom: Gampopa's Heart Advice on the Path of Mahamudra

How could confusion arise as wisdom? According to the Mahamudra view, confusion arises as wisdom when we realize that everything we experience is the radiance of the mind’s own nature. And what is the nature of our mind? And how do we come to recognize that? These are the questions Gampopa answers for his students in the text commented upon here, known as the

Overview

How could confusion arise as wisdom? According to the Mahamudra view, confusion arises as wisdom when we realize that everything we experience is the radiance of the mind’s own nature. And what is the nature of our mind? And how do we come to recognize that? These are the questions Gampopa answers for his students in the text commented upon here, known as the Great Community Talks. He shows them—and now us—the path of deep understanding and meditation that leads to the realization of Mahamudra, the “Great Seal” of the true nature of reality.

Gampopa was a twelfth-century Buddhist monk who was a disciple of Tibet’s greatest yogi, Milarepa. He applied Milarepa’s instructions on meditation to reach the highest realization of Mahamudra. In this volume of advanced teachings, Gampopa passes on these same instructions in the form of heart advice on how to practice the nature of mind and reach enlightenment.

Ringu Tulku’s commentary on the text, taken from his own community talks to students in Europe and America, makes Gampopa’s teaching wonderfully accessible. His gentleness, warmth, and humor, as well as his wisdom and practicality, shine through in his own heartfelt advice on how we too could transform confusion into wisdom.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

“I am pleased that Ringu Tulku has chosen to share in Gampopa’s spirit of offering the Dharma, in publishing this translation and commentary on Gampopa’s Great Community Talks. I am confident that the coming together of these two—root text and commentary, Gampopa and Ringu Tulku—will be a source of goodness in the world.”—Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the Seventeenth Karmapa

“Pithy and to the point, Gampopa’s heart advice to his assembly captures in poetic fashion the importance of seeing the mind as it is, recognizing pitfalls along the path, visualizing the tantric deity, and listening to the dharma. Much of his advice is directed toward experienced meditators in retreat, and though Gampopa’s verses on the intricacies of meditation are concentrated, Ringu Tulka adds water with his stories and commentary, making these teachings vibrant and refreshing for practitioners of Mahamudra.”—Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly

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From the Publisher

“I am pleased that Ringu Tulku has chosen to share in Gampopa’s spirit of offering the Dharma, in publishing this translation and commentary on Gampopa’s Great Community Talks. I am confident that the coming together of these two—root text and commentary, Gampopa and Ringu Tulku—will be a source of goodness in the world.”—Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the Seventeenth Karmapa

“Pithy and to the point, Gampopa’s heart advice to his assembly captures in poetic fashion the importance of seeing the mind as it is, recognizing pitfalls along the path, visualizing the tantric deity, and listening to the dharma. Much of his advice is directed toward experienced meditators in retreat, and though Gampopa’s verses on the intricacies of meditation are concentrated, Ringu Tulka adds water with his stories and commentary, making these teachings vibrant and refreshing for practitioners of Mahamudra.”—Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly

Meet the Author

Ringu Tulku Rinpoche was born in Kham Lingtsang, in eastern Tibet, and was recognized by His Holiness the Sixteenth Gyalwang Karmapa as the incarnation of one of the tulkus of Ringu monastery, a Kagyüpa monastery in his home province. He studied with some of the most distinguished khenpos of the Nyingma and Kagyu traditions and received teachings from many outstanding masters, including Thrangu Rinpoche, Dodrupchen Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and the Gyalwang Karmapa. He is also the author of Path to Buddhahood and The Ri-me Philosophy of Jamgon Kongtrul.